Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Some Reads

Juvenile and Young Adult Titles (* denotes Reading Olympics):

Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee: Not just another book about a teen trying to lose weight! This one is set in a Southern beauty parlor and has more heart and insight than the usual young adult diet fest.Drita My Homegirl by Jenny Lombard: Reading the description of this at Amazon makes it sound like a Big Serious Book with Deep Meaningful Themes. Drita is a refugee from Kosovo and, after arriving in the States, her mom sinks into a depression over a missing friend. Maxine is the motherless New Yorker who befriends her, although she's perpetually in trouble at school and is dealing with her dad's new girlfriend. Sounds heavy, but it really isn't. It's still an easy read, but with a little more substance than the usual friends-at-school story.*The Big Wander by Will Hobbs: A Western set in the 60s. Two teenage brothers wandering the West in search of their uncle. Lots of horse talk. Sort of reminded me of The Black Stallion.*The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon: When he was 15, Brent set himself on fire. This is the true story of his recovery, presented as a series of journal entries.The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn: A retelling of Rumplestiltskin. Started strong, finished weak, but still a worthwhile read.

Adult Books:

Star Struck Dead by Sheila York: It's interesting to me to see what sort of rating these books have when I look up the links on Amazon. This one has a very good rating, which surprises me, because I hated it. It's supposed to be noir-ish, but I found it boring and confusing. Blech.Evanly Choir by Rhys Bowen: Constable Evans again! Enjoyed it!The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain: I was not familiar with Diane Chamberlain at all before I saw this book in a Target ad. Strange, because we have a bunch of her books at the library, and she seems to be quite popular from what I've read online. This book had a bit of a Jodi Picoult feel, and I'm interested in reading more of her books.